Method and device for producing and packaging sausage type products

ABSTRACT

According to this method, the products are produced by continuously co-extruding a bead coated with a starting base comprising hydrocolloids so as to form a skin by calcium gelation when the sausage passes into the elongated gelation bath, said bead then being shared out into portions placed in trays. Many beads are co-extruded by parallel co-extrusion heads, transit into a common gelation bath, are brought side by side so as to then be placed into portions by given means acting on all said beads so as to form batches of identical products perfectly grouped and aligned so as to be loaded into their packaging tray.

This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10/470,781, filed Jul. 30,2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,404,710 which is a National Stage Entry ofPCT/FR02/00364 filed Jan. 31, 2002.

FIELD

The present invention concerns the production of sausage type productsand the packaging said products into trays.

SUMMARY

Within the context of the present invention, these products consist of abead made up of minced meat or fish and/or vegetables covered with askin and shared out into portions, whose section may be any shape butmore generally round. As regards the production of these products, theseare obtained by co-extruding a bead coated with a starting basecomprising one or several hydrocolloids such as sodium alginate orpectate, pectin, carraghenates, etc., said base being intended to formthe skin via calcium gelation in a bath downstream of the co-extrusionmeans. After having being immersed for a specific period in the bath,the bead is portioned, rinsed, dried and then packed. In a continuousproduction method, the bead at the outlet of the co-extrusion headpasses into the horizontally elongated gelation bath so as to determinethe required immersion time. For further information, reference could bemade to the related French patent application filed on the same date andunder the same name as the present invention and entitled “Sausage typeproduct and its producing method”.

The invention concerns optimisation of the method for producing andpackaging these products and the device for implementing said method byexploiting specific characteristics linked to the method of productionby means of co-extrusion and gelation and also the specificcharacteristics as regards the products.

Thus, the invention firstly proceeds from the fact that severalproduction lines can be placed in parallel so as to produce according toa same co-extrusion speed several sausages transiting in a commongelation bath. Downstream of gelation, the packaging into trays can befacilitated by bringing side by side the sausages formed in parallelbefore putting them into portions with the same transversal means actingtransversally and simultaneously on all the sausages so as to formbatches of products of the same length and perfectly grouped andaligned.

In other words, the invention is a method for producing and packagingsausage type products according to which said products are produced bycontinuously co-extruding a bead coated with a starting base includingone or several hydrocolloids and intended to constitute a skin viacalcium gelation when said bead passes into the elongated gelation bath,said sausage then being split into portions intended to be packaged intrays;

said method is characterised in that several beads are co-extruded inparallel and according to a same co-extrusion speed, are made to transitin a common gelation bath and are brought to be side by side so as to bethen be put into portions by the same means acting transversally on allsaid beads so as to form batches of identical products perfectly groupedand aligned to be then loaded into their packaging tray.

The invention also concerns a device for implementing said method,characterised in that it includes: a plurality of transversally alignedco-extrusion heads, a gelation container horizontally elongated and inthe extremity upstream of which said co-extrusion heads discharge; meansfor bringing side by side the formed sausage before being placed intoportions; common means for portioning the sausages transversally actingon said sausages brought together; and means for loading the batches ofproducts formed at the outlet of said portioning means into their trays.

According to other preferred characteristics of the invention concerningthe device,

said means to bring side by side said sausages are guides placed in thedownstream extremity portion of said gelation container;

the portioning means consist of two identical synchronized endless beltsplaced with one above the other so to form between them a passagevertically narrowing from upstream to downstream for said beads broughtto be side by side, said endless belts comprising transversal anvilspassing opposite one another in said passage so as to progressivelysqueeze said beads from upstream to downstream and finally cut them;

a first belt conveyor orientated longitudinally receives the portionbatches formed at the outlet of said portioning means and provided alongthe latter are means for rinsing said portions with which they areadvantageously associated downstream of drying means;

the portion batches are transferred via gravity at the strand of saidbelt conveyor, a second belt conveyor belt being placed under the latterso as to transport at the same speed and in the same direction anaccumulation of said trays by making them pass through a loadingposition immediately below the downstream extremity of the firstconveyor belt.

The characteristics and advantages of the invention, as well as otherrelated specific characteristics, shall clearly appear from a reading ofthe following description with reference to the accompanying drawings onwhich:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side diagrammatical view of a device according to theinvention,

FIG. 2 is a top diagrammatical view corresponding approximately to FIG.1, but not showing the downstream packaging portion,

FIG. 3 is a side diagrammatical view on larger scale of the portioningunit of the device of FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 4 is a side diagrammatical view on larger scale of the downstreampackaging portion of the same device, and

FIGS. 5 a and 5 b are perspective diagrammatical views of two examplesof co-extrusion heads able to be used according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference firstly to FIGS. 1 and 2, these figures basicallyrepresent the main part of a device according to the invention andcomprising at its upstream extremity a plurality of transversallyaligned co-extrusion heads 1. Although the latter can be fedindividually, so as to for example allow for the production of mixedproducts, on FIG. 2 they are shown connected via their inlets to commontransversal feeding collectors 15, 16. In the two cases, adjustmentmeans are provided to equalise the co-extrusion speed on all the heads1.

The co-extrusion heads are oriented so as to discharge downstream of thedevice into the upstream extremity of a gelation container 2 andpreferably slightly above the surface of the gelation bath. Thecontainer 2 is not very deep and has a flat bottom and is longitudinallyelongated (along the arrow F), its length being determined according tothe co-extrusion speed and passage or immersion time required for thebeads B formed at the outlet of the co-extrusion heads 1 in the gelationbath. In the container 2, guiding passages (not shown) can be formed inthe longitudinal alignment of the co-extrusion heads 1.

The marks 21 and 22 respectively denote the flow-back and suction pipesinserted in the bottom of the gelation container 2 and which are joinedtogether in a recycling circuit of the gelation bath. Secondly, they areplaced in such a way so as to create a flow or current along the arrow Fin the gelation bath which shall contribute in having the beads B moveforward. To this effect, the flow-back pipes 21 are placed upstream ofthe suction pipes 22, and preferably, as diagrammatically shown on FIG.2, are placed in rows aligned with the co-extrusion heads 1 andconnected to said recycling circuit by respective transversal collectors23 and 24.

Moreover, and according to an important characteristic of the invention,the downstream portion of the container 2 comprises guiding means whichare used to bring together all the beads B so as to form a bundle wherethey are brought to be in contact side by side. To this effect and asrepresented, the container 2 has in its downstream portion which forms aconverging section so as to guide the beads B the most externallysituated, whereas the others are guided by walls (not shown).

A portioning unit 3 receives said bundle of beads B brought into contactside by side at the outlet of the gelation container 2. It comprisesmeans to transversally squeeze said bundle at regular periods of timedefining the length of the portions P. From upstream to downstream inthe unit 3, this squeezing is gradual and directly ends before theoutlet by a transversal sectioning of said bundle. In the embodimentshown and more clearly visible on FIG. 3, the unit 3 is constituted bytwo endless belts 31, 32 placed with one on top of the other and formingbetween their opposite strands a passage 30 which narrows from upstreamto downstream. The squeezing means are transversal anvils 33 placedaccording to a given spacing on the endless belts 31 and 32. The twoendless belts 31, 32 are synchronized to allow the anvils 33 to move bypairs opposite each other along the passage 30. Preferably, the anvils33 are profiles with a certain elasticity enabling them to be slightlycrushed and to this effect can be hollow profiles with a rounded top asshown and be advantageously made of elastomer. Indeed, the running offspeed in the unit 3 is the same as the co-extrusion speed, given thefact that it is the unit 3 which positively drives the beads B formed bythe co-extrusion heads 1.

The portions P come out of the unit 3 thus forming batches inside whichthey are identical with a perfect alignment of their front and rearextremities and brought into contact side by side. These batches areimmediately taken up onto a first belt conveyor 4 along which theportions P can firstly be rinsed by means of small showers 40 and thendried by dryers 41.

As regards loading the batches of the portions P into the trays and asshown more clearly on FIG. 4, in association with the first beltconveyor 4 a second belt conveyor 5 is placed below transporting anaccumulation of the tray type containers C and making them move into theloading position, that is immediately below the outlet extremity of thebelt 4, said extremity preferably being as shown of a sword type. Thebelts 4 and 5 are synchronized so as to the portions batches P areplaced by simple gravity in the trays C intended to receive them.

FIGS. 5 a and 5 b, by way of the examples of co-extrusion heads 1 a and1 b they represent, illustrate the fact that multiple variants ofproducts can be produced with the device of the invention. Theco-extrusion head 1 a is provided for producing products with a roundsection, and moreover, as an option, makes it possible to fill the coreof the products by a third central outlet 12 in addition to its mainoutlet 10 and peripheral outlet 11, whereas the co-extrusion head 1 b isused to embody rectangular sections.

There now follows a description of one example for implementing thedevice of the invention so as to produce meat sausages:

A preparation of the following is firstly made for constituting the skinon the sausage meat:

a) a base by adding in water about:

-   -   5% in weight of sodium alginate,    -   2% in weight of anhydrous di-calcic phosphate,    -   1% in weight of potassium sorbate,    -   10% in weight of a sugar load

b) a gelation bath by adding to the water

-   -   2% in weight of calcium lactate    -   1% in weight of citric acid.

The base has been loaded into a tank feeding the peripheral outlet 11(FIGS. 5 a and 5 b) of the co-extrusion heads 1 and the gelation bath inthe elongated container 2. The co-extrusion heads 1 have been adjustedso as to deliver according to the ratio in weight of 90 to 99% for themeat of the sausage via their outlet 10 and the 100% complement for saidbase intended to constitute the skin via their peripheral outlet 11. Thebeads formed pass through the gelation bath and are driven by theportioning unit 3 and also by the flow created in the bath by therecycling circuit, said recycling consisting of a continuous supply ofcalcium lactate.

In the gelation bath, two gelation processes take place simultaneously:

a gelation process by soaking with free calcium ions abundantly presentin the bath; on immersion, an external film of calcium alginate isformed on the external surface of said base,

a less rapid gelation process by releasing of the calcium ionsintegrated in said base provoked by the acid pH of the bath.

On leaving the bath, the beads B pass into contact side by side in theportioning device 3, which from upstream to downstream firstlyprogressively squeezes the bundle of bead B which forces the meat out oneach side in each bead and fully flattens the skin over the entirelength of the squeezing portion. At this stage, the acid gelationprocess still taking place is an important advantage in that it createsa weld or solder bridge between the two layers of skin squeezed againsteach other, thus the making it possible to obtain, after the portioningof the squeezed zone, portions P perfectly closed at their extremities.The portions P placed into batches on the belt conveyor 4 are thentransported under small rinsing showers 40 and the driers 41 so as to beloaded at the outlet in the trays C.

1. Method for producing and packaging sausage products, according towhich said products are produced by continuously co-extruding beads anda starting base forming coated beads, said starting base comprising oneor several hydrocolloids and intended for constituting a skin by calciumgelation when said coated beads pass into an elongated gelation bath,said coated beads being then cut up into portions intended to be packedin trays, said method being characterised in that said beads areco-extruded in parallel and according to a same co-extrusion speed, inthat said coated beads are made to transit into a common gelation bath,in that said coated beads are brought side by side so as to be then cutup into portions by given means acting transversally on all said coatedbeads so as to form identical batches of products grouped and aligned tobe loaded into packaging trays.
 2. A method for producing and packagingsausage products comprising: continuously co-extruding in parallel beadsand a starting base through co-extrusion heads forming coated beads;passing said coated beads from said co-extrusion heads into a commonelongated bath; cutting said coated beads into batches of grouped andaligned portions by a portioning device acting transversally on all ofsaid coated beads; and loading said portions into at least one packagingtray.